Attempts to distort the history of World War II go hand in hand with plans to undermine the moral authority of modern Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Attempts to distort the history of World War II go hand in hand with plans to undermine the moral authority of modern Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

"Today we can see both attempts to misrepresent, distort the events of that war and the cynical and blatant lie and the brazen defamation of the whole generation of people who sacrificed their lives for the sake of this victory and defended peace on the planet," Putin told a meeting of the committee organizing the May 9 celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

Sometimes, "I cannot even bring myself to recount all those shameless conclusions and so-called observations that have nothing in common with the truth," the Russian president said.

"Their goal is clear - they seek to erode the strength and the moral authority of modern Russia and deprive it of the winner's status with all international legal consequences arising from this situation," Putin said.

"Totally absurd remarks have been made on a number of occasions," he said.

"It is surprising how people come to that. In fact, all this is not completely harmless because an attempt is being made to plant quite dangerous ideas and distorted visions of history in the minds of millions of people, primarily the youth," the Russian president said.

In this context, the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9 are not just festivities, but a crucial awareness raising campaign at both domestic and international levels," Putin said.

"Acting in a consistent and firm manner, we need to defend the truth about the war, the colossal contribution made by the Soviet people to this victory and the Soviet Union's crucial role in the destruction of Nazism," Putin said.